Robots, and in particular industrial robots, are used for various work processes, for example, in industrial environments for the production, assembly or processing of various workpieces. Robots can then also share a workspace with a human, for example, if a workpiece is processed by a robot and a human simultaneously. Such an application or such a working environment is also referred to as human-robot collaboration (HRC).
A robot can comprise several axes which are freely programmable. The manipulator constitutes the actual mechanical system of the robot. The manipulator or robot arm can consist of a series of rigid links, which are connected via joints. The placement or position of a robot can be described by the position of the individual joints.
In order to ensure that a robot does not collide with its surrounding environment during operation and thereby cause damage to itself and/or to the surrounding environment, a reliable monitoring of a robot movement has become an important functionality of modern robot systems. In particular in the case of HRC applications, this involves strict safety requirements. For example, in the case of laser applications, it must be ensured that a robot travels along a precisely defined trajectory and does not deviate from this trajectory or leave a defined workspace. Most safety systems rely on a precise recording of position values and/or other dynamic variables, such as speed values.
The object of the present invention is to allow reliable controlling of a manipulator and, in particular, to improve existing safety concepts. In particular, a method is to be provided with which a robot can be controlled in a flexible manner while at the same time ensuring a reliable monitoring of the robot movement.
This and other objectives, which will become apparent on reading the following description of the invention, are achieved by means of the subject matter of the independent claims.